Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

Seeing Zhou Feng, who had ordered the complete eradication of the Shennong Gang, walking towards her, Zhong Ling's eyes widened, and she instinctively shrank back.

But she was tied to that wooden stake, so where could she retreat to?

As Zhou Feng's hand reached towards her, the little girl looked like she was about to cry.

Fortunately, Zhou Feng simply pulled out a small dagger, cut the ropes binding Zhong Ling, and released her.

Even so, the first thing Zhong Ling did after being put down was not to remove the gag from her mouth, but to quickly hide behind a wooden stake.

Who left behind a dozen or so steaming, gradually cooling corpses on the ground?

Zhong Ling, hiding behind the wooden stake, trembled slightly as she tried to put on an expression of "I'm not afraid of you," but the tears in her big eyes were already about to spill over.

She revealed half her face, her voice thin and trembling: "This... esteemed hero, as you can see, I'm just a little girl they captured, I didn't see anything..."

Looking at her cowardly yet stubborn appearance, Zhou Feng felt a surge of restlessness from absorbing a large amount of internal energy in a short period of time, which inexplicably calmed down a lot.

He didn't rush to explain, but tilted his head to look at Zhong Ling hiding behind the wooden stake, his face slightly stern: "What's your name? Where are you from?"

After hesitating for two or three seconds, Zhong Ling decided not to lie. What if this person knew her father?

"My name is Zhong Ling. My father is Zhong Wanchou of Wanjie Valley, and my mother is Gan Baobao. Do you know them, sir?"

Meeting Zhong Ling's probing gaze, Zhou Feng didn't even raise an eyebrow, only uttering an "oh".

This immediately made the little girl's heart skip a beat.

Oh no, this person in front of me has never even heard of my father's name. It's all my father's fault!

He usually boasts about how famous and powerful he is in the martial arts world, but he can't intimidate either the Shennong Gang or the guy in front of him!

If a reputation can't even spread beyond Dali, how powerful can it be in the entire martial arts world?

That's it, I'm probably going to die here today!

The little girl became more and more frightened as she thought about it. Her lips trembled, and two tears streamed down her cheeks, but she bit her lip and didn't make a sound.

Watching this scene from the side, Zhao Pan'er roughly guessed what her master meant, so she smiled slightly, walked forward gently, and squatted down on the other side of Zhong Ling.

He reached out and rubbed her wrists, which were red from being bound, then held her hand and comforted her gently, "Don't be afraid, little sister. We're not bad people. It's just that the Shennong Gang committed many evils, which is why we wiped them out."

Zhong Ling pursed her lips and didn't reply. She tilted her head and glanced at Zhao Pan'er beside her, then froze for a moment before blurting out, "Sister, you're so beautiful!"

After she finished speaking, she realized that it seemed inappropriate to say such things at this time.

But the words were already out, and she couldn't take them back. She could only stand there awkwardly with her head down.

Zhao Pan'er was amused by the cute little girl and smiled, her tone softening even more: "You're very pretty too. We won't hurt you, but there are some things we need your cooperation with."

She glanced back at Zhou Feng, and only after he nodded did she turn back to Zhong Ling and continue, "You saw what happened just now. We wiped out the Shennong Gang. Although we were doing a service to the people, the relationships in the martial arts world are complex, so if word gets out, it will cause us considerable trouble..."

Before Zhao Pan'er could finish speaking, Zhong Ling immediately raised her right hand: "Sister, don't worry, I definitely won't tell, I swear! If I tell anyone, I'll never eat melon seeds or candied hawthorns for the rest of my life!"

Upon hearing this, the girls standing nearby almost couldn't help but laugh.

Who would swear that it was made with melon seeds and candied hawthorn berries?

Zhao Pan'er suppressed a smile, cleared her throat, and looked at Zhong Ling seriously: "Little sister, we can't trust you with what you're saying, so we can only give you two choices. First, take our specially made pills, and take the antidote once a year, and there won't be any problems. Second, come with us, and once we're sure you won't reveal the secret, we'll let you leave."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Ling's expression changed.

Taking poison is definitely out of the question; who knows what kind of poison the other party used?

What if the other party is busy and doesn't give her the antidote? She's only a teenager, wouldn't she lose her life?

But if you follow along...

Although this woman is beautiful, this group of people just killed more than a dozen people cleanly and efficiently without even blinking.

Even if the Shennong Gang is a group of wicked people, they are probably not good people either!

She hesitated for a long time, then looked up at Zhao Pan'er for a moment before sighing, "Sister, I'll go with you. But...but...you can't hurt me!"

It can only be said that good-looking people are successful everywhere, even in ancient times.

With Zhao Pan'er's face, she is attractive to both men and women. Even a young girl like Zhong Ling would instinctively be less wary of her.

"Don't worry, coming with us won't harm you; in fact, you'll live a much more comfortable life than you did in the Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities!"

Zhao Pan'er patted Zhong Ling's shoulder and, taking advantage of her inattention, winked at Zhou Feng.

She helped her family get things done, even things that her own father wanted to do!

Zhong Ling just pursed her lips behind her back.

Putting everything else aside, her own Wanjie Valley was actually quite comfortable in terms of living environment and conditions. It was just that she got tired of staying there and wanted to come out for a walk.

Who could have imagined that so many things would happen?

Bai Ling walked beside Zhou Feng, observing the entire process with a cold eye.

After Zhong Ling followed Zhao Pan'er to the front, she fell two steps behind, moved closer to Zhou Feng, lowered her voice, and even gritted her teeth: "Comrade Zhou Feng, you're quite the schemer, aren't you? One of you plays the good cop, the other the bad cop, intimidating first and then coaxing?"

"Pshaw! Why make such a fuss? Don't you think this girl is great? If she doesn't come with us, she might run into other dangers. Who will help her then?"

Bai Ling snorted coldly and didn't reply.

She had indeed observed Zhong Ling carefully just now. Although the girl was a bit timid and fearful, she did have clear eyes and a kind nature, and she liked her from the bottom of her heart.

But the thought of her man eyeing another woman made her furious, so she reached out and pinched Zhou Feng's arm.

"Stop being so sarcastic. Are we just going to walk like this?"

It's important to know that the background of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" is also the Song Dynasty!

If they rely on walking to get there, it could take them several months to reach their destination!

"How could that be? I'll get a carriage once we get to the inn in town. Even if we get a carriage now, we don't have any horses, do we?"

The group continued along the mountain road toward the town, with Zhong Ling and Zhao Pan'er walking at the front. She adapted even faster than Zhou Feng had imagined.

After all, Zhao Pan'er was also trying to befriend him, so the two got along better and better as they chatted. Zhao Pan'er even took out a bag of beef jerky she had brought from the modern world from her backpack.

This opened the door to a new world for Zhongling, and the little girl's eyes lit up.

Not too tough or dry, the seasoning was just right, and this beef jerky was even more fragrant than any other jerky she had ever eaten before!

At the age when I love snacking, I came across a snack that's over 1000 years ahead of its time. It would be strange if I didn't fall for it!

Before long, Zhong Ling had almost finished the snacks Zhao Pan'er had given her. With half a piece of beef jerky still stuffed in her mouth, she moved closer to Zhao Pan'er and said, "Sister, where did you buy this jerky? It's so delicious!"

Seeing the girl puffing out her cheeks like a squirrel stuffing food into her mouth, Zhao Pan'er couldn't help but smile. "Your brother Zhou brought this back from a very, very far place. If you like, we have many more!"

Zhong Ling looked back at Zhou Feng with a hint of fear in her eyes.

But when she noticed that the other person was smiling at her, she felt relieved.

Although she hadn't been rescued for long, based on her conversations with Zhou Feng and the others, they weren't exactly vicious people; in fact, the older woman was quite kind and peaceful!

Most importantly, there are so many delicious snacks!

Not only the beef jerky Zhao Pan'er gave her, but also the small biscuits and sachima that Qin Jingru and Lou Xiao'e shared with her, all of which Zhong Ling enjoyed immensely.

After arriving at the inn and settling into their rooms, Zhou Feng returned to the world of Dream of Splendor alone in the middle of the night and brought back the custom-made carriage from this world, which was parked in the palace, through the double-door.

Although it looks different from ordinary horse-drawn carriages of this era, its interior is completely designed with modern engineering principles.

Not only is the chassis equipped with a shock absorption system, but the seats are also filled with memory foam, the windows are made of special one-way transparent glass, and even the body is made of special metal with a wood-like finish.

Several small storage spaces were designed under the seat, which Zhou Feng filled with his daily necessities.

Early the next morning, Tie Jianguo went to the town's horse market, bought several docile-looking packhorses, harnessed them to the cart, and waited at the entrance of the inn.

Zhao Pan'er and the others had all seen the modern world, so they were naturally not surprised by the carriage.

Zhong Ling had only just met them. From the outside, she thought it was just an ordinary carriage, but once she got in, she was immediately shocked by the interior decorations.

Especially after sitting on the side chair, he froze there, unconsciously lifting his buttocks and bouncing them twice.

"My goodness! How come your carriage is so comfortable? And why is it so smooth? Hey, why can I see outside through this black window?"

The little girl kept asking Zhao Pan'er questions like she had a million "whys".

The key point is that Zhao Pan'er isn't much better than her. They both came from the Song Dynasty, so who knows more than whom?

Seeing that Zhao Pan'er was a little embarrassed, Zhou Feng simply opened the drawer under his seat and took out two snack bags: "You guys can eat these while you're bored on the way."

Under Zhong Ling's curious gaze, Zhao Pan'er tore open the potato chip bag and handed it to her.

The latter tried to pinch off a piece with her hand and put it in her mouth. With a crunching sound, the little girl's eyes grew brighter and brighter!

This thing even tastes like meat!

With these snacks, the little girl completely forgot how afraid she was of Zhou Feng and the others before, and even clung to Zhao Pan'er's arm, calling her "sister" repeatedly.

Noticing Zhao Pan'er looking at him with a slightly pleading expression, Zhou Feng smiled and said, "Actually, it's not wrong for her to call me 'sister,' it's only a matter of time."

Apart from Zhong Ling, all the other women in the carriage understood Zhou Feng's meaning, and in an instant, they all rolled their eyes at him.

Zhao Pan'er and Sun San Niang may not have realized it yet, but Bai Ling would definitely not agree to Zhou Feng taking Zhong Ling into his room so early, and she also believed that the latter would make the right choice in this regard.

The women chatted and laughed, while Zhou Feng flipped through a book of commentaries on the I Ching prepared for him by the fortune tellers in the Dream of Splendor world. The book had marked many points that needed attention based on the Lingbo Weibu footwork.

With the help of a world-class scholar, it would be difficult for Zhou Feng's progress in Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) to be slow.

The carriage traveled at a leisurely pace along the official road for two days. Although they didn't encounter any towns along the way, Zhou Feng had prepared a camping tent in advance, which made things quite convenient.

What intrigued Zhong Ling was that, despite having only one carriage, the small drawer seemed to have unlimited space. The tents, meals, and water for the past two days combined were almost larger than the carriage itself!

Where exactly did it come from?

After Zhao Pan'er interrupted her several times, the little girl wisely stopped asking questions.

Everyone has their own secrets, and knowing too many of other people's secrets won't do her any good.

On the third day, as the carriage was traveling on a gentle mountain slope, two figures wearing dark green cloaks suddenly appeared on the side of the road ahead.

The carriage wasn't moving fast, and Tie Jianguo slowed down when he saw people ahead.

But one of the two cloaked figures, upon seeing Tie Jianguo, took the initiative to greet him.

Before he could speak, the cloaked man lifted his hood, revealing a young and handsome face.

"Brother, do you remember me? I am Duan Yu from Dali!"

Duan Yu stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting.

Tie Jianguo didn't intend to stop the carriage. Only after hearing Zhou Feng respond with "Wait a moment" did he pull on the reins and bring the carriage to a stop.

Duan Yu strode to the side of the carriage and bowed slightly through the window: "I apologize for disturbing you, but may I ask if your sect's acting leader is here?"

"What advice does Young Master Duan have for me?"

Zhao Pan'er's cool voice came from inside the carriage, which made Duan Yu's face show surprise and surprise, but also a little embarrassed.

He only needed to see Tie Jianguo's face to remember that he had seen this person with Zhou Feng before, and then his mind was filled with Zhao Pan'er. He hurriedly stepped forward to stop the car.

They've stopped the car, but what's wrong with him?